The Crimson Kitsune
by Hope You Will Always Stay
Summary: Naru Uzumaki was many things. A demon container, a victim of unfortunate circumstances, an orphan. One thing she was not, however, was a quitter. If they thought a few mean words and some nasty looks were enough to diminish her dream, they were dead wrong. Now, though, they had crossed the line. She was the heiress of the Uzumaki Clan, and she wasn't playing around.
1. Prologue

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto. I only own the plot and my OC.**

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"Argh!"

The young girl fell flat on her butt with a huff. Her hands had gotten scrapped up and her tailbone was starting to protest quite a lot. This was her second year at the academy, shouldn't they be learning super awesome jutsu? Apparently not, as all they had talked about was this dumb tree walking exercise. They hadn't even tried it out, for Kami's sake! Every time she tried to practice the exercise, she was blown off the tree backwards. She knew she was putting too much chakra into it, but she couldn't control her already above-average reserves. Wasn't that what this technique was for?

Looking up and seeing it was almost sunset, Naru knew she should get back to her apartment soon. Not because she had anyone waiting for her, no, it was more the fact that she didn't want to walk through the village alone at night. Besides that, she needed to get back so she could was her clothes for school tomorrow. She really missed her old jumpsuit, it was so much more sturdy and she had only had to wash it once a week. She couldn't even remember having to sew it once!

However, right before she entered her second year in the academy, Hokage-jiji had insisted that she get a new set of cloths that were 'fitting for a kunoichi'. Naru had been adamant in her decision to get an all orange outfit, but as soon as he saw her heading for the neon clothing, her 'chaperone' took over. She now wore a blue, sleeveless kimono blouse with dark blue trimmings held close by a dark orange obi that matched the clip in her hair. Underneath was mesh armor shirt that hid the low, exposed part of her chest and stopped just before her elbows. Though she had actually grown fond of the beige shorts, they were a lot easier to move around in compared to her old jumpsuit.

There was another advantage to her change in clothing, as while the cloths were more ninja like than civilian they didn't draw the same attention the neon orange did. Most people, though, recognized her bright red hair and whisker marks and gave her that cold stare she had come to hate. Zipping through the dwindling crowd, she finally slowed down enough to notice she was getting closer to her apartment complex. As she walked down the street the people who still lived there because they couldn't afford to move pulled their children closer and glared, but as this happened everyday she was just beginning to ignore them.

Practically hopping up the stairs that ran up the side of the building for tenants on the upper levels, though her was only on floor 5, she walked past many doors just making her way through floor 2 when all of a sudden, her face broke out into an even wider smile. A woman, probably in her late 50's, with graying brown hair pulled up into a loose bun and kind brown eyes was just walking out of her apartment. She wore a light moss green yukata with dark forest green trimming and a matching obi. She was carrying a steaming pot with a towel and made sure not to drip any over the sides and onto the concrete or her sandaled feet.

"Tamiko baa-chan! What're you doing out here? It's almost dark, you can't just walk all the way up to the 5th floor by yourself, you gotta be more careful!"

The woman merely chuckled, "Says you, Naru-chan. I haven't seen you since you ran out of your apartment this morning and I was worried, so I decided to go check on you. I figured if homemade Miso Ramen couldn't bring you out of hiding then nothing could!"

Naru looked at the pot with wide eyes, her mouth already watering. Tamiko's ramen was as good, if not better than, Ichiraku's! Tamiko nudged her jarred door fully open and motioned for Naru to enter, which the redhead did happily. The elder woman's apartment was larger to the point that it actually had separate, if not small, rooms and Naru's was an overpriced box.

Quickly making her way into the kitchen, she grabbed two bowels out of the cabinet and set them on the table. Tamiko set the pot down in the middle of the table and offered Naru a set of chopsticks, which were quickly taken. The eight year old began to inhale her ramen until she saw her baa-chan's frown.

"Eh, sorry!"

"It's alright Naru-chan, I just don't want you to choke. Now, today I was thinking you should get some proper Shinobi sandals. After all, you are a kunoichi in training. You should look like one."

"Shopping again? Baa-chan! I already got new clothes! Now I gotta wash these cause they get dirty easy! What next, shoes that fall apart?"

"Hmm. I see you ripped your shorts, I suppose I'll need to teach you how to sew those a bit better. Also, Shinobi sandals are more durable than those flimsy civilian ones you have on now. They're made of dark and rather slick material and not cloth, so you needn't wash your shoes after every practice."

"I only have to wash 'em because you make me!"

"Well, would you rather be washing your shoes or my floor? Also, you do know you missed you vocabulary lessons, right? Since you were training though, I'll let you off the hook this once."

"Thanks baa-chan!"

Tamiko just smiled at the girl, she could remember when Naru was just a little four year old. She had been weary of the child at first as the Kyuubi attack had taken her daughter and grandchildren, but the youth had wormed her way into the woman's heart. She had seen some of the girls darkest moments.

Frankly, Tamiko was just about fed up with people treating her surrogate granddaughter like dirt and knew what she had to do. The girls basic education in the academy got sabotaged so the woman had taken matters matters into her own hands recently. While she couldn't teach ninja lessons, she could teach her what she'd later in life better than any damn Kunoichi Instructor. She had begun teaching her proper vocabulary three years ago and they had just started cooking lessons last month. She knew as a ninja, the girl would need to be self sufficient and probably need to know how to cook more than instant ramen.

"Done!"

Looking at the girl and empty pot beside her in awe, she just shook her head. Grabbing the dishes, she placed them in the sink and began to talk, "Don't forget that you have school tomorrow and straight after your classes I want you to drop by here so I can give you a new book to read. You did very well with the other one, Naru-chan. Now get going, it's already nightfall and I don't want to hear a word of you falling asleep in class."

Naru paled at the though. While her baa-chan was nice and enjoyed her pranks, there was one thing she would not stand for, and that was letting your education suffer because of laziness. The one time she'd fallen asleep in class last year, the woman had made her write lines for three hours!

"Kay, bye Baa-chan! See ya tomorrow, believe it!"

"Bye, Naru-chan"

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_**Keep in mind this is AU please! I think it'd be awesome if Naruto had this kind but stern adult figure in his life other than the Sandaime growing up. So that's why I made Fem!Naru have one. Obviously she's a bit smarter and takes her education more seriously, but she still does her pranks. **_

_**NOTE: Tamiko will not become some kick-ass ninja that trains Naru. She's a civilian. The only things she's doing is giving Naru the parental love she needs and lessons on Vocabulary and how to cook and sew. So if you're somehow worried about that, don't be. But If you like Tamiko, internet cookies for you (::)(::)(::)! Also, if you think I'll have too many OC's that'll play a big part, Tamiko is the ONLY one.**_


	2. Until We're Dead

**DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto. I only own the plot and my OC. **

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_Until the referee rings the bell_  
_Until both your eyes start to swell_  
_Until the crowd goes home_  
_What we gonna do ya'll?_

_Give em hell, turn their heads_  
_Gonna live life 'til we're dead._  
_Give me scars, give me pain_  
_Then they'll say to me, say to me, say to me_  
_There goes the fighter, there goes the fighter_  
_Here comes the fighter_  
_That's what they'll say to me, say to me, say to me,_  
_This one's a fighter_

_~The Fighter, Gym Class Heroes_

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_4 Years Later_

Cradling her Hitai-ate in her hands, she walked out of the academy still contemplating where to place the forehead protector. Tamiko baa-chan said it would go well on her neck, though she wasn't sure it fit right. Her clothes were pretty much the same except she had exchanged the beige shorts for black Shinobi pants that stopped at her ankles and where wrapped in bandages making them puff out a bit. Her kimono blouse now hung a bit past her waist, but other than that she had barely changed. Maybe use her headband as a belt?

"Look, that _thing _passed..."

"I can't believe it! How could they let her be a ninja? She's the-"

"Shh! It's forbidden!"

Rolling her eyes, Naru walked on past the two women and shrugged off all the other cold glares given to her that dared her to become a part of their warm and loving atmosphere. She knew Tamiko baa-chan was going to fix her homemade Miso Ramen, besides they'd have to love her one day. She was going to become the Hokage. She'd get their respect and admiration, they'd love her even more than the Yondaime!

It had been her own living hell the past few years training wise. She had worked her butt off to reign in her chakra only slightly. She had been forced to make ten Bunshin, but it was better than two lousy ones. She knew she'd have to work more on that, it would have to be her main goal to get even better at in the week they had off. She didn't want her sensei to bother with it, besides, Yakumo had been a huge help as the girl had given her tips here and there.

"Naru!"

She turned around to see said girl jogging towards her. Yakumo had long brown hair that was straight on one side but had a braid on the other with a clip that looked like two yellow circles. She wore a violet battle kimono that went and inch past her knees and was held together by a red obi that had yellow designs. Underneath in all she wore red mesh armor.

"Want to take a walk? I'm in no hurry to get home."

"Um, yeah, sure. Tamiko baa-chan is making Ramen but I have some time cause you _know _how much of a perfectionist she is!"

Naru could understand why the girl was in no hurry to get home. Her uncle and the rest of the Kurama Clan had been out for her death ever since her parents had died when she was younger. Yakumo was looked at in slight fear, but not the full blown disdainful looks she got. It was almost like they pitied the Kurama heiress, though Naru had no idea why.

"The test was way to easy!"

Snapping back to reality, Naru couldn't help but nod. She was _at least _hoping they'd have to perform jutsu of higher difficulty than that, The whole day had been boring really. All they did was announce the top students and the worst ones , though everyone knew Shikamaru was only the 'dead last' because he didn't care.

"I know, most of the kids who passed wouldn't have if the test was harder. Like all the fan girls! Though it's great that Hinata made Kunoichi of the Year, I just hope she doesn't have to be on a team with the teme, she's too nice to slap someone!"

"Hinata has worked very hard, yes, and she has earned that title. Although if you put more effort into your work you could have easily beaten her."

"Whatever!"

After wandering around, Yakumo eventually said she should head home lest her uncle believe she has deserted the clan and calls for her execution. Naru let out a snort at that, even though it was probably true.

Watching her friend walk away, she felt dread wash over her. Dread for what she was not exactly sure. Yakumo's clan wouldn't actually kill her, yeah? They were family. Sure, Yakumo was a bit weird, maybe paler than most, and there was this look on her face, like a heavy weight weighed on her shoulders. Then again, that came with being an heiress, Naru was sure. A person would be pretty stressed if they knew they'd be leading so many people in the near future.

Practically skipping down the streets that lead to her apartment, she could smell the ramen from the first floor of apartments. Spices, noodles, an all in all mouth watering aroma. As she got closer, she could smell what she though was metal but couldn't exactly place it. She took a deep breath as she stood in front of her baa-chan's apartment. She gripped her Hitai-ate tightly as the smile threatened to break her face in two.

"Baa-chan, guess-"

The smile fell off of her face.

"Guess...what...B-baa-chan?"

There, laying in a pool of blood, was Tamiko Niwa surrounded by four grown men holding bloody kunais. Naru threw her arm up to cover her eyes, heart racing as she tried to escape the foul and sickly stench of so much blood hit her full force by backing out of the apartment.

"Ohhhhh looky here boys! The Demon Bitch 'erself!" One man slurred as blood dripped of him and hit the floor. He made a jerky movement and lunged forward, grabbing Naru by the hair. He pulled her of the ground as she just kept clawing her eyes.

"C'mon bitch! Don't you wanna see what little ole granny got for loving a demon?"

Naru let out a whimper as her hair was grabbed tighter and she was forced to her knees. A strong hand yanked hers away from her face. She screwed her eyes shut as she felt one of the drunkards lean in close to her face. She gasped in pain as one of the men pushed the tip of the kunai into her cheek. He laughed as she whimpered and jerked her head in such a way that her neck strongly protested.

She let out a small sob, "Please! Don't hurt baa-chan anymore!"

"Too late bitch…she's already dead! Don'ya worry though, we'll have a bit more _fun_ with you before you die like your granny!"

The men roared in laughter as the girls eyes snapped and looked down in disbelief. She felt hate bubble up and felt energy pulse under her skin, felt as though she were going to burst.

**KILL THEM! MAKE THEM PAY! **

It all happened so fast. The power built to it's peak and _pushed_. Pushed out of her body, out of her skin. A horrific scream ripped out of her throat, raw and horrible and _demonic_. It hurt like an echo, all the pain she had ever felt coming to surface as her vision blurred. She faintly heard the sound of thumping over the roaring pain; _one_,_ two_,_ three_, _four_. She felt a wetness of her cheek, warm and metallic. _Blood_, her mind vaguely supplied as she realized she wasn't standing anymore. Her limbs felt like lead and her head ached. She tried to roll on her back but wasn't in control of her limbs. All she saw before her vision went black was a cat mask looming over her.

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_**Keep in mind this is AU please! By the way Yakumo Kurama is that girl from the fillers that had amazing Genjutsu skills. I decided to add her. Sai will also be added later on. Don't worry, by the way, the chapters will get longer :) Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed!**_

_**I owe SO MUCH thanks to Tsamoka, who has been helping me design Naru's style, well I said my basic idea and he turned it into something amazing! Seriously I am so eager to start working with this style and making new moves beyond the ones he provided! Thanks again, Tsamoka!**_


End file.
